: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:21 am  

Kindly check out the message at http://forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php? ... 7#13813587. Mintball

Kindly check out the message at http://forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php? ... 7#13813587. Mintball

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:45 am  

I thought it was the natural choice for a televised game.. Toulouse going into this were an unknown quantity and have been included to create some razzmatazz..

Okay so they got dicked on last night but no-one couldn't have been sure that it wouldn't have been a close game.. Personally I thought it might have been alright to watch from the neutrals point of view despite it being a walkover and that seems to have been a bit supported on this thread.

[Jemmo]

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:16 am  

Anyone know where I can find a report for this including cards and penalty counts

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:33 am  

it was far better to watch than the usual hammering. The tries came from good plays generally rather than falling over the line and Toulouse showed considerable flair with the little possession they had.

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:41 am  

Jemmo wrote:

Anyone know where I can find a report for this including cards and penalty counts

Check sang-et-or.net in a couple days' time.

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:06 pm  

bobm wrote:

it was far better to watch than the usual hammering. The tries came from good plays generally rather than falling over the line and Toulouse showed considerable flair with the little possession they had.

Are you chemical Ali! That is the biggest spin job I have ever heard. Of course Widnes scored tries from good play, they were allowed to play as much as they wanted.

Seriously I get your point, I do not fondly remember big Bradford sides doing just that. However both are unwatchable IMO unless you are a Widnes fan which is fair enough.

Of course there are excuses for both, but less so for this. In this case Widnes had a new coach, are a good side and were up for it so I'll give Toulouse that. But in terms of it being flair I can't accept. Widnes were simply offered the chance to run riot and did which turned it into virtually touch and pass. They executed their drills very well but then you can when a finger is rarely laid upon you. There really is no excuse for actually standing back and letting the opposition play. At least in the other scenario the team had to work to get to the line.

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:29 pm  

vastman wrote:

So this is the club the expansionist loons wanted in SL.
...
Toulouse aren't ready for the Conference and France is barely capable of one Pro team let alone two and I see no reason why any British team should make way for them under any circumstances.

Toulouse need to prove their worth with actions not promises and bull.

No, it was flat cappers who wanted them straight in SL, expansionist loons wanted them in the Championship.

You are judging TO on one game against on of the (if not the) top side(s) in the Championship, I can only comment on the reliability of your conclusion (ask your science teacher).

TO are in the Championship to prove their worth by actions. If they have exactly the same result as Catalans did in SL - i.e. finsih bottom first year, cup final the next and then top 3 finish the year after, then their Championship adventure could be considered a success. Shall we judge them in three years' time?

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:03 pm  

bobm wrote:

Toulouse showed considerable flair with the little possession they had.

Are you sure about that? In the 2nd half they couldnt even hold the ball following 2 tap penalties. their hooker just threw the ball back wildly.

[tb]

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:24 pm  

I refer people (including Vastman) to the post at the bottom of p3 again

: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:54 pm  

I thought it would have been much closer than it was and Toulouse will certainly have to improve, I thought their number 8 was excellent by the way.

Lack of preparation seems to have played a big part and that is down to the coaching team at Toulouse, but given they are in the Championship for one reason, to qualify for SL, what does it matter if they get a few spankings early in the season this year?

I'm sure that the travel does not help them away but they will benefit from other teams suffering the same problem when they play at home. I just think that inevitably the rugby will suffer. What's the point of a team that is artificially strong at home and artificially weak away?

Widnes looked pretty useful from 1-17 and next weeks fixture against Halifax certainly looks tasty.